The Belly

Not a great photo, but this is the belly at 22 weeks. I'm looking for a picture from last time, but need to do some hunting on the slow computer, so it may be a few days.

Jinxing myself

I know that this will end Ethan's streak, but I just have to gush.

This boy has been using the potty for a week and a half. For everything. He has even stopped asking me for help. Just pulls down his pants, sits down, and calls for me afterward to help clean up. The pull-ups I put on him for naps have been consistently dry. And this morning...(drum roll please)... his diaper was dry! He woke up and immediately said he had to pee. (I'm sure he did. He's been taking a full cup of milk to bed so that we can get enough into him.)

So proud of my little guy. And he looks so grown up in big boy underpants.

Mom, I'm so sorry....

Found this woman's blog through her hilarious Ebay posting. She has 6 kids and the way she writes about her life reminds me of my mom. I kind of wish my mom had been able to blog while we were growing up because more people would know how funny she can be in the middle of chaos. Actually, I'm not so sure I would want all of our antics out there for anyone to read, but at least I was the good one...

Anyway, her blog reminds me of life with five crazy kids in the house. Never a dull moment. Mom, I'm so so sorry that you had to put up with us. Now that I have one of my own, I can see how absolutely nuts it would be to try to mother so many off the wall kids. Thanks for doing your best.

EDIT: I'm not saying that having lots of kids is crazy (well, maybe a little), but more that I'm amazed by the women who manage to do it. I'm pretty sure that all of my siblings are turning out to be decent human beings. That in itself is amazing. Good job mom!

... and Ethan

Ethan has given me the best two birthday presents a mom could ask for this last week (besides some time off.) Both seem to stem from his visit to the doctor's office.

First, the cute one. We've had more visits for me and Edward lately than for him, so when we arrived at his doctor's office, Ethan started asking about Edward. He spent the whole waiting time asking if he could open my belly (pull up my shirt) to look at Edward. When we arrived home and were trying to eat lunch, Ethan had trouble eating because he was so absorbed in my belly. Touching it, rubbing it, kissing it, talking to it, and trying to take Edward out so that he could hold him. This is a routine we go through several times a day now. Sometimes we pretend that Ethan takes Edward out and practices holding him. Ethan is so excited about his little brother that he even tried to rearrange his room during a nap, so that we could put the crib in it. Hopefully this enthusiasm will continue after Edward is born. (While I was typing this, Ethan snuggled up to me and covered my belly with a blanket to keep baby Edward warm.)

The second, and more amazing thing is that potty training is actually happening! The doctor asked how it was going and I admitted that we'd gotten frustrated and taken a break. He suggested, specifically because Ethan is way too smart and knows that diapers are just easier, the "Once Upon a Potty" video for boys. (We already had it, but hadn't used it since the very beginning. It really is a great video for smarter kids b/c it goes through everything from body parts to having accidents and even includes a super annoying song that you can't get out of your head.) I didn't think Ethan was paying attention, but the next morning he asked if I would take off his diaper so that he could make a pee-pee, even remembering that the doctor said to let him sit on the potty while watching the video. We moved the potty into the living room and Ethan peed! Without any prompting from anyone else! Ever since, he's been wearing mostly underwear and using the potty several times a day, with little prompting. (Albeit in the living room, but hey, he's doing it.) He even pooped in the potty on Sunday and was so excited he wanted to tell his nursery teachers.

My little boy is growing into such a cutie! I love how excited he is to have a brother and how amazing he is when he decides to do something. (I also love that he has such respect for the doctor. I might need to take advantage of that.)

My E Boys: Edward...

I made the mistake a few weeks ago of telling John how much easier this pregnancy has been. The meds are WONDERFUL and mean I don't struggle to keep my blood sugar up this time. And having Ethan means that I just forget I'm pregnant most of the time.

Or at least that was the case. Meds are still good, but I'm having to be more careful about veggies and anything else that causes gas bubbles. Talk about painful. The bubbles not only hurt, but they cause contractions, which Edward then pushes back against. It's like labor pains! I guess I just don't have much room in there any more.

That's the other crazy thing. I'm 21 weeks, when they say you should be starting to feel your baby moving. HA! Not only did I start feeling him at 13 weeks, I'm already at the point where I can grab onto his foot when he shoves! He really is that big and that strong. No little flutterings for me.

I'm also becoming large enough for this belly to get in my way. I can't lift much at all. Getting up and down is a problem. Ethan is complaining that he doesn't fit on my lap and I can't get down on the floor to play as easily. My poor stretch marks are itching like crazy. And I still have 4 months to go!! (I need to post a picture so that people will believe me.)

At least I know Edward is growing! He's already making himself a big part of our family.

How could I forget?

Somehow, I forgot to mention that John and I had our seventh anniversary a few weeks ago. Way to go us! A friend mentioned that they struggled through their seventh year, glad to hit the anniversary and put it behind them. We've been lucky. I'll be the first to admit that this hasn't been the easiest year we've ever had, but it wasn't the hardest either. No problems with that rumored seven-year-itch.

So babe, just because I don't say it enough,
I Love You!

Hijack: Technical Difficulties

John here, my domain name has expired and I'm having a hard time re-registering it.

So, until I'm able to figure it out, I've pointed my blog to tenfootrabbits.blogspot.com

You can keep up with me there, it should be a seamless experience.

Remembering

Remembering today that every day we get to spend with Ethan is a blessing.

We miss you Cameron.

Scrawny Boy

Ok. I am really getting sick of this.

We visited the dr today for what I had hoped was Ethan's last weight check. Although he is getting taller right on schedule, the boy has only managed to gain about an ounce a month, instead of the six he should be gaining. To give you some perspective on that, he gained about a third of a pound since his last weigh in, but should have gained three pounds. Arrgh! Back on the high calorie, high fat, high protein diet. They even want us to mix half whole milk and half cream in his cups for a few weeks.

Because I've been so annoyed that we've had to keep doing all this, I asked why this is such a problem. Especially because the dr agrees with me that he is just adjusting to be the tall, scrawny kid we expect him to be. I got a great explanation this time. At first, the problem was his drop in both height and weight on the growth charts. Then, his height leveled off at well above 50th percentile, but his weight kept dropping. Now that he's hovering barely above 25th in weight, they start worrying about his body getting (or not properly using) everything it needs. Particularly the fats he needs for neural development. (That would be for brain and nerve function for my husband who complains that I use big medical words.)

At this point, he is clearly still developing normally. He is ridiculously smart, so no problems there yet, and his physical development is right where it should be. But because we're back on the diet, we are also back to the monthly check-ups. (They want to make sure he gains, but doesn't get the chance to put on any unhealthy weight.)

At least this time I can join him in some of his yummy indulgences. Although there is clearly more of me (in more places than just my belly), my weight isn't going up either. Edward is following in his brother's footsteps at this point. Growing so fast, I can't manage to keep up with the both of us! Hopefully when he slows down in a few years, it's not as much as his older brother.

Halfway!

I'm officially halfway to the finish line. It's nice, but it also reminds me I have about 20 more weeks to go. Yuck. My belly already sticks out far enough that I bump into things when I'm not being careful. (The lab benches at work are at just the wrong height and I always come home with bruises.) Not really looking forward to being huge.

FYI

For anyone who might have been thinking about it, the solid colors of the swaddling blankets have been marked down. (The link is under 'Things we want...' on the sidebar.) I plan to buy at least one of these b/c they are such a great weight of fabric and the perfect size to swaddle even big babies, nurse under, and use as a sun shade on the stroller. I figure that we need so little I can afford to splurge on a few nicer items this go round.

It's a..... oh, just look and see

This is a little hard to see small, so maybe click on the picture to see it bigger. It's a bum shot, with the legs disappearing to the left. (The round, hollow thing is a knee, so follow it back down to the bum.) In between you can see a distinct something...That's right! We're having another boy, and we are sure this time. This is a nice profile shot. For anyone who has a hard time seeing these, the white curve at the bottom left is the back of the head. So if you follow the curve over the top, you get to a nice profile. If you look at it close up the nose, lips, chin, and even cheekbones are visible. The squished oval to the right is the torso and the white streak coming up at the right is a leg bone.
Here is another profile. In this one you can see a little hand coming up to his mouth. You can even count all five fingers.
Right after the last one, the tech gave the baby a poke and he appeared to be laughing at her. (The cross-section is at a strange angle, so no, my baby isn't deformed.)
I know this doesn't look like much, but it's a foot with five toes. (The toes are at the upper right end of the foot.)

So it was a great ultrasound. He is healthy and clearly enjoying his ability to move around in there. It took quite a long time because he was playing around so much. Rolling around, waving his hands at us, and crossing his legs when she went for a bum shot. The tech commented that he was incredibly active, but was fun to chase around. She also mentioned how tall he seemed to be. All his measurements were right on, but they can't get a good length estimate once they are this big, so she was just guessing.

Well post something at soon about his name, because I'm sure you'll hear us using it. But I don't want to tell you yet until we can explain what it means to us. I may even have John write about it.